Discworld
Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody or at least borrow ideas from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as myth, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, technological and scientific issues. Since the first novel, The Colour of Magic (1983), the series has expanded, spawning several related books and maps, four short stories, cartoon and theatre adaptations, and even music inspired by the series. The first live-action screen adaptation for television (Terry Pratchett's Hogfather) was broadcast over Christmas 2006. Another one for the cinema (The Wee Free Men) is currently in development. Newly released Discworld books regularly top The Sunday Times bestsellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s. He has since been overtaken by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the BBC's Big Read, five Discworld books were in the top 100, and a total of fifteen in the top 200. Writings Pratchett has developed the Discworld in a series of novels, short stories, and other works. Novels As of 2007 there have been 36 Discworld novels published (four of which are marketed as children's or "young adult" (YA) books). The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby; the American editions by HarperCollins used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001 the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Recent British editions of Pratchett's older novels no longer re-use Kirby's art. Very few of the Discworld novels have chapter divisions, and feature interweaving storylines instead. Pratchett is often quoted that he "just never got into the habit of chapters", adding later "I have to shove them in the putative YA adult books because my editor screams until I do". However, the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was divided into "books", as is Pyramids. Also, Going Postal and Making Money do have chapters, including both a prologue and an epilogue along with brief teasers of what was to come in each chapter in the style of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories or the novels of Jules Verne and Jerome K. Jerome. Reading Orders Many novels share the same lead characters and show their development over time. Some of the main characters of one book may also make a cameo appearance in another book where they are not the primary focus; for example, Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua von Überwald appear briefly in Going Postal. The books take place roughly in real-time, and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years. The novels can be grouped into several story arcs, with characters or themes in common, however no distinction will ever be clear-cut. Many stories (such as The Truth and Thief of Time) nominally stand alone but nonetheless tie in heavily with main storylines. A number of characters, such as the Unseen University staff, Lord Vetinari and the Elves, appear prominently in many different storylines without having titles of their own. As it is, many of these 'standalone' stories deal with the development of the city of Ankh-Morpork into a techno-magically advanced metropolis, that readers will find analogous to real-world cities. For example, The Truth catalogues the rise of a newspaper service for the city, the Ankh-Morpork Times, and Going Postal similarly deals with the development of a post service and the rise of the Discworld's telecommunications system called 'the clacks'. With the main character of Going Postal starring in the similarly-themed Making Money in which he takes over the Ankh-Morpork Mint, it can be considered a new arc: the Moist von Lipwig stories. Reading order is not restricted to publication order. However, each arc may be best read chronologically. The best introduction to the geography and structure of the world is The Colour of Magic, although the style and contents differ somewhat from what later Discworld developed into. Character and plot development became foremost in Guards! Guards! Lists of novels Category:Fantasy Worlds